The contest starts today, October 25th, and we'll accept photo submissions until midnight EST on December 31st. We welcome entries of all types, including high-power telescopic photos and wide-field nightscapes. The main requirement is that Comet ISON be in the original exposure(s). For example, we won't accept a photo of the comet over the Golden Gate Bridge if ISON is pasted into a photo taken several years ago.

We'll accept as many as five entries per person, and there's no fee to participate. You'll retain the rights to your photos — we only ask permission to publish the winning photos on our website and in the April 2014 issue of S&T.

4 thoughts on “Announcing the Comet ISON Photo Contest”

Nice how this is setup to give the people who already have these tools, more tools. The people who could truly use these tools aren’t being given much of a chance, because the people who can afford the equipment and software will have the best images and have already won. So the people who cannot afford the expensive software or the expensive telescopes and drives don’t stand much of a chance in this contest. So you are pandering to the "haves" and ignoring the "have-nots", the people who could really benefit.

The best images I’ve ever seen of a comet were not taken through a telescope. The most spectacular shots of comet McNaught for example were taken through a simple 55mm lens and DSLR mounted on a tripod. Since the contest includes telescopic shots as well as nightscapes the playing field has been leveled. With these fair rules I see no such "pandering" to the haves.

Either poster could be right at this point. If the comet does not develop well it will not get relatively bright until it is very near the sun. In this case, it might never become visible to the unaided eye, but good equipment and experienced astrophotographers may be able to tease out some fine pictures taken in twilight. If the comet does perk up and put on a good show,then modest equipment will suffice.